screen capture programs/problems
 

i am trying to do some screen captures of a .wmv video and i tried the hard way by using a few different programs i found on download.com. they didnt work so i tried 'ctrl+printscreen' and pasted to PSP and ended up with the same problem.

now here's the problem i keep getting no matter what i've tried.. the image appears in whatever program i use, but the center where the movie frame is supposed to be is kinda see thru. as i scroll around, whatever is in the backround.. behind the original app.. stays there. when i save the image and open it back up, its just black.

i'm betting this is a common problem and a simple solution, but i am totally confused. i hope i make sense. TIA

ALT + Printscreen will usually capture whatever is the most front application (I use it for capturing dialog boxes when I'm writing documentation)

Snag it is a app that I use when I want to just capture a portion of a screen.. and it's pretty handy... like a specific button or text on a screen.

I'd also recommend SnagIt. It lets you select a particular region of the screen you want to capture. There are also various other features that you can read about here.

The movie is playing in video overlay memory. Most capture utils only see the usual screen image which by itself leaves you with an empty video frame.

This can be worked around depending on the program you're using for playback. Some have built-in frame capture. (i.e. Media Player Classic) Some just need to be told not to use video overlay. (it's a performance enhancement) In WMP open up tools->options->performance tab->advanced, and disable "use overlays."

You'll probably want to re-enable overlays after finishing your captures. At full screen it can make the difference between smooth and jerky video playback.